So long as the dialogue is not out of place and is used to set something up, I see no problem with beginning a novel that way. It is often the first paragraph that makes me want to continue reading a book or make me put it down.

For commercial fiction at least, I would say dialog would work better if there was something going on at the same time to grab the reader's attention. Something for the characters to talk about that gives a sense of urgency to the setting.

I voted "depends", because it really does depend. On the whole, I am not fond of beginning a book with dialogue; however, there have been a few books which have pleasantly surprised me, and I found that such an approach worked rather well in those situations.

I am not really fond of books that begin with casual, everyday exchanges - like "'Hey,' I said as Ted walked up to me. 'You're late today. What's up?'" I really, really like entering the scene with the characters in the middle of a serious discussion. The world is ending, aliens are invading, the world as we know it may cease to exist... okay, maybe not THAT serious, but something OTHER than "Oh hey, we're at school and I'm beginning the scene with a friendly exchange because I need to show you that I am a friendly person!"

Well, isn't this "in medias res" but taken to the extreme? The problem with starting with dialogue, unless it's truly memorable or shocking, is it requires catch up from the reader.

How are you supposed to be immediately drawn into the story, to feel empathy for the character, when you know nothing about them except for a few lines of dialogue? The opposite end of that conundrum would be info dumping, giving so much back story the reader goes to sleep. So my option would be start in the middle of the action but give us some glimpse of character as well as brief lines of dialogue.

I would generally think no dialogue at the beginning, but I voted "depends" because there are ways to make it work, but I think it's much, much more difficult to do, and it is so easy for it to come out cheesy or trite.

I've seen it done to great effect, so I can't say I loathe it for that reason. Are you wishing now that you hadn't given us a third choice?

I hate that you are under the weather. Take it easy and get better soon.

Great. As long as it's a rambling, incoherent slush of exposition and non sequiturs batted madly about between several either clichéd or never clearly-defined characters, speaking free from the shackles of punctuation in at least three different thick and obscure dialects, all phonetically spelled, and going on and on for several pages before inexplicably closing without resolution, never to be heard from again....

I'm commenting on all my favorite blogs today to give them notice of Blog Action Day. Tomorrow tons of people will be posting about this years 'global cause' to help raise awareness. This year's theme is Poverty.

I like for the first sentence or paragraph to introduce the reader to the protagonist. This can be accomplished either with dialogue or a scene as long as the scene is not a dream or a description of a building or the weather.

Though I now live in Kansas, I still have connections in my home state of Louisiana. Rest assured that chickens are being killed, pins are being stuck in straw dolls, and all manner of gris gris are being rubbed to assure that you return to a copacetic state of being. I voted with the crowd. I think dialog is okay as a start as long as the character is wearing Depends.

The problem with beginning with dialog is, of course, that the reader has no clue who these people are. But if written skillfully, it can be a great hook.

One of my favorite books starts out:

*** "TOM!"

No answer.

"TOM!"

No answer.

"What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You TOM!"

No answer.

The old lady pulled her spectacles down and looked over them about the room; then she put them up and looked out under them. She seldom or never looked through them for so small a thing as a boy; they were her state pair, the pride of her heart, and were built for "style," not service -- she could have seen through a pair of stove-lids just as well. She looked perplexed for a moment, and then said, not fiercely, but still loud enough for the furniture to hear:

"Well, I lay if I get hold of you I'll -- "

***If that opening dialog went on any longer, it wouldn't work. But we discover quickly that Tom is a boy, and is probably in trouble for something (instant hook), and then that the person calling him is an old lady, who the author draws pretty well with a brief description containing action.

Works for me.

(Disclaimer, I realize that using a 100-year-old-plus example has its dangers, but this one still feels modern to me.)

JPod, by Douglas Coupland, is one of my favourite books. It begins like so:---"Oh God, I feel like a refugee from a Douglas Coupland novel."

"That asshole."

"Who does he think he is?"

"Come on, guys, focus. We've got a major problem on our hands."---Really, when the book starts by insulting its author ... you can't put it down!

If a book begins with dialogue, it has to be good dialogue. But that goes the same for any beginning: it has to pull you in. Beyond that, I don't see what the problem is with using dialogue to do that.

I prefer to start my novels with some sort of action. Doesn't matter if that action is talking or something. I enjoy books which start with a general philosphical statement (It was the best of times, etc, suffices). But I suck at that so I fall back on action. It'd be nice if the dialoge had something to do with the overall theme/plot of the book, too, not just the inciting incident, but we can't have it all.

I'm not hung up on first lines, either. I always give books a longer leash than that.

Maris, your profile says your "nom be blog" consists of a combination of the Latin and French forms of the words that make up the name of your hometown. Red Stick Writer refers to my hometown, Baton Rouge. Of course, in its original French, it comes out Stick Red, but we forgive them since they invented pomme frites (French (AKA American)) fries.

The Depends thing reminds me of the Mardi Gras Krewe of Tuck. Friar Tuck's is a bar near Tulane and Loyola in New Orleans. The Tuck parade started as a lark by college students but grew into a full-fledged krewe and parade. Members of the famous African-American Zulu krewe throw coconuts from their parade floats. Tuck members through Tuck's hemorrhoid pads along with their dubloons and beads. Needless to say, Zulu has to pay bigger insurance premiums.

I cringe. It feels overdone. But I could easily be swayed to get behind the book soon enough if the story is good. I'm mostly there for the escape anyway. If Michael Connelly wants to starts with dialogue then I'll go with it.

It reminds me of beginning a movie with one of the characters giving a lecture (class, conference, whatever) on something that ties into the story. Ugh.

Thanks, Scott -- I was having a hard time remembering a book that starts with dialogue. The opening has to draw me in, whether it's dialogue, action, setting, it has to be compelling writing. Feel better, Nathan.

I voted for Depends. (No, not that kind of Depends.) I think the dialogue has to be really strong to pull in the reader, though. I love when the setting or a character is vividly described first, but I also enjoy reading great novels that start with dialogue. I’m reading Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card right now. I was pulled in from the very first sentence, and it starts with dialogue.

I seem to have done it with the first three books in my series. Didn't plan it that way, but now that it's become a pattern, I think I'll try to come up with clever ways to do it for the remaining two books. My first two books, not in the current series, began with narrative. I'm flexible, as long as it works.

However, in each case the dialogue I used was extrememly short and provocative, thereby drawing the reader in immediately. (the first line of Book Two is "Ow".) By beginning in the middle of an argument, for example, it's dialogue AND action, after a fashion.

I don't go in for long descriptive passages that go nowhere as beginnings, but well-done, either dialogue or narrative is fine.

I voted 'Depends' and I'm not talking about the undergarments. I think the story should start the instant the primary protagonist takes the first step which propels her or him towards the inevitable conclusion. Sometimes that involves dialogue and sometimes not. Sometimes it's easy to find that instant. Most of the time, at least for me, it takes a lot of work!

We were talking about this last week on a forum I hang around, and the general consensus - including from the resident agent and publisher - is that dialogue to open a novel is a big no-no (albeit with the caveat that knockout dialogue can always sway them...)

The general train of thought is that you can't open up with someone saying something because the reader has no immediate affinity to the particular character, so there's no hook.

My own view is that, as a reader and writer, I don't mind - sometimes it does work, sometimes it stinks.

By now I bet Nathan wishes he'd titled that category something other than 'Depends'.I'm also Depending. I won't not read a book because it opens with dialogue. If the book's good, it's good. If it's not, the dialogue is irrelevant anyhow.

I think it really depends on what the novel is about. I generally don't like reading books which start with dialogue because I find the book annoying, but if it is good and it takes readers in and the dialogue is relevant then I'll love it. I'm not a writer so I am assuming that this is a hard way to write a book.

It depends on the story and the author. Just out of curiosity I glanced at the first pages of some of my favorite novels. I found two that started with dialogue and which I remember drawing me in from the start: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card which begins with two people discussing the child we'll later meet as Ender, and Stephen King's The Stand which begins with a line of dialogue as a man yells at his wife to wake up because they have to get out of the house. I'd say it's like anything else and can either be done well or can be done badly.

I think that any sort of convention for beginnings can be done well or badly. I've always been told to start with action. Drop the reader in the middle of something. If that's a conversation then that opening line of dialogue should do something to orient the reader immediately to the who, what, where, or why. Or at least make the reader want to know who the heck is speaking and find out more. I find in my own work I rarely start with dialogue. As I write romantic suspense, I often start with either the villain or the finding of a body.

It'd better be good, which doesn't necessarily mean lengthy or particularly rich. But like a scream that kicks off a great rock tune, too often it can just be going to the well for lack of a better idea.

"Is it a good idea to start with dialogue?""What kind of a question is that?""Well, I'm just wondering. I mean, time and place and those kind of situational details are important.""Of course they're important. But so's voice. Mine, yours, his.""His? He's got a say in this?""Sheesh. Of course. You should close your mouth. Every time you open it, your inner idiot escapes.""Oh, brilliant. At least I don't believe someone else is doing my thinking for me.""It'd be nice if someone did. Now back up and get your elbow off the keyboard, will you?""Sorry.""Look. A page and a half of capital h's.""And still better than the drivel you pass off as starting dialogue."

I said depends. My biggest gripe with dialogue openings is when the book refuses to say who's talking. That can be done through the dialogue... it doesn't always need tags. But I'm not going to read for long if the whole start is:

"I don't want to.""Why not?""Because it's bad.""Well, I disagree."

It doesn't tell me anything about the characters or what's going on. This is something I've seen more in short stories. People think they're being mysterious, but they're not. And if I ever write a story like that, feel free to slap me.

Dialogue as a beginning...hm...I suppose it depends. As a writer, I enjoy throwing a reader into a story and having them say "what the hell" and keep reading, but not keeping them clueless for very long. As a reader, I find that far too often, a book will begin with dialogue adn not give me what was going on until the last page...and it ends up being really lame.

And the dialogue has to be interesting. Not "Hi there, Fred, what are you doing here?" or "hey kiddo, how was school?"

No, I need something like "Mr. President, we need you to evacuate immediately." or even better.

more typically, I like being thrown into the descriptions of action. Like, someone running away or someone hiding from something. But it's gotta be REALLY good.

I think it definitely depends. Good dialogues are great. Writers like Dean Koontz & Eric Jerome Dickey always have great dialogue that just make you read & read. Bad dialogue however - - - well, it should be illegal.

Having dialogue at the beginning of a novel can provide a hook, if that dialogue is interesting enough and not too long. It can be a useful device for bringing the reader into the story, and providing insight into the characters who are having the dialogue. Depending on the type of story (which is important), I like having my interest piqued right away, rather than having to wade through ten pages of narrative. Dialogue brings the characters to life, if they are given enough breath. Then, we can zoom back from that dialogue and take a wide angle look at the setting, etc. The dialogue must be important to have such a prime place in the story. Get well soon, Nathan, your blog is fun to read. (Very informative too)

I voted "Depends." What I don't like about a dialogue opening is I can't visualize it. Such an opening usually gives me no setting clues, whereas a narrative opening often does. But that's not to say that a dialogue opening can't work if it's done well. And really, most novels openings are disorienting to some degree. I have to absorb a fair bit of information before I can get that little movie going in my head.

I'm not a fan of generalizations or always/never type statements, so I'm in the "depends" category as well. I generally don't like books that open with casual dialogue (Hi Sally! How are you today?), and I don't think I've ever started a story with any form of dialogue, but many books have begun with it, and begun well. Overall, though, I tend to prefer non-dialogue openings.

“How do you expect to get away with it?” she asked, one blond eybrow arching skeptically.

“It depends,” he answered, pushing the dark curls of his unshorn hair from his eyes.

He was leaning over the table, chopping crystals of cocaine carefully and thoroughly with a one edged razor blade.

“It’s easy enough to do if you are willing to sacrifice yourself, but...”

“But then you don’t get away with it,” she concluded.

“That would seem the case...” his voice dropped off as he considered the matter.

She eyed him unmercifully, unwilling to give ground.

He ignored her stare, concentrating on reducing the crystals to a fine powder, but she knew what he was thinking.

“Why don’t you just forget it, live happily ever after?”

“Can’t.”

“A matter of honor?”

“A matter of Honor, capital H.”

“Men!”

“I belong to that organization, yes.”

He took a plastic pen from his pocket and disassembling it, used the hollow tube to siphon the white gleaming powder off the antique walnut table that now bore the marks of his enterprise. He was not normally a user, but he had already been awake for seventy-two hours and he knew it would be at least another ten or twelve before he had a chance for sleep... Be generous, he thought, twelve hours, do or die. The coke might be just the bump his exhausted body needed. Or not. On the other hand, its previous owner certainly didn’t need it anymore. That is to say, the dead body lying at his feet hadn’t objected yet.

How timely! My Non-Fic writing class last night discussed this topic at length...due to my essay that started with dialogue. Arghh. OUr concensus was to NOT do it. The teacher flipped through the Best Essays 2007 and couldn't find one that started with dialogue in the first ten or so. Oh well. If it can be done well, that I say go for it. I just need to make mine better than it was.The joys of writing and debating!Thanks for the excellent question, Nathan!

Good dialog launches into the middle of the action, people expressing their feelings, thoughts, or problems, which is much better than the weather, the setting, or a catalog of the character's physical characteristics.

And obviously, "good" dialog, like "good" prose, is better than "bad."

I also voted depends, because for me, it is the overall story that matters to me. Honestly I can pull through a bad beginning if I think the story in the end is worth it. I'm reading one of those right now, and I sure am glad I kept reading, cause the story is getting good.

Feel better Nathan! I'd bring you some soup...but we all know how showing up at your office works out. ;)

The first line of a book/article/essay should catch your attention. At least, I was always taught that in school. You only have one chance to make a first impression. The first few lines of a book are pretty important. I think beginning a book with dialogue is fine as long as it catches my attention and actually has something to do with the rest of the book.

"Loathe" is a strong word for the way I feel about books that begin with dialogue. Let's just say I can't remember a single well-loved book that began that way. What draws me in most is a lyrical beginning, or failing that, some kind of introduction to the novel's world. I don't want to listen to the characters talk until I know something about them.

I went with "depends". For example, the opening is "My life is total hell!" I'd definitely keep reading to find out why. Now, if the dialogue started with "Don't you think this dress is cute?" Well, I'd probably put the book back on the shelf at the local bookstore and begin searching for something else.

I'm also one of those who hates total identification of a character in the first paragraph. As in real life, when you first meet someone, you don't really know that person. Over time, you get to know them. I like to do the same with the characters in a book. Give me some sketchy information in the first few paragraphs, and give me the rest of the info as the book progresses. I know, those comments were semi-off topic . . .

"I've watched through his eyes, I've listened through his ears, and I tell you he's the one."

"Who is John Galt?"

These are a couple of well read books that begin with dialogue.

I voted (x)depends.

Nevertheless, starting a book with dialogue brings the reader directly into the action, and avoids the often dragged out description of the scene or people that can cause one to become automatically disinterested in continuing the reading the story.

I voted “Depends”. But my general preference is against a novel opening with dialogue. No matter how minimal, I like to know who, what, where. Otherwise, reading the dialogue can feel like eavesdropping.

I think it can work very well, but as with anything else, a bad writer can mess it up completely. It's a useful technique, though, and can get the reader right into the middle of the goings-on and start showing them who the characters are and what they're into, more quickly and easily than a paragraph of description.

"You wanna see nuts?" he bellowed, his eyes bulging. "Oh, I'll show you nuts."

As a hook, dialogue can be just as effective as narrative. But like anything else, you can screw it up, too. No one thought that writing in second person was such a good idea until Chuck Palahniuk did it--and very effectively. But unless you're the Hitchcock of your genre, I wouldn't make a habit out of it either. After a while, it would become stale and predictable.

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